The Aeronaut's Windlass

Jim Butcher, the New York Times-bestselling author of The Dresden Files and the Codex Alera novels, conjures up a new series set in a fantastic world of noble families, steam-powered technology, and magic-wielding warriors. Since time immemorial, the Spires have sheltered humanity, towering for miles over the mist-shrouded surface of the world. Within their halls, aristocratic houses have ruled for generations, developing scientific marvels, fostering trade alliances, and building fleets of airships to keep the peace. Captain Grimm commands the merchant ship, Predator. Fiercely loyal to Spire Albion, he has taken their side in the cold war with Spire Aurora, disrupting the enemy’s shipping lines by attacking their cargo vessels.

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he writes sf as well as his urban fantasy. Original world with interesting physics (maybe a touch of Steampunk?) and fauna. Love those cats! I wonder if they will ever discover that they are a Terran (directly or indirectly) colony, hope so.

I quite like Jim Butcher's works and I love the way he creates an expansive universe. I have been a big fan of the Codex Alera series and have also enjoyed the Dresden Files. I am a big fan of high fantasy series and enjoy it when an universe is defined with some degree of details as the plot unfolds.
So on all these counts, I really liked The Aeronaut's Windlass. I am hoping the rest of the series continues to build on the depth of the universe created by the Spires.

Based on merit of the storyline alone I would have given this 5 stars, but I really really really dislike cats. That is why this book is not getting a 5 star rating. That's all I have to say about this.

Definitely recommend reading if you enjoy this genre and even if you've never read Jim Butcher before.

If you can tear yourself away from Butcher's Dresden Files, this is a pretty decent work of fantasy. There are some really great characters in this and some interesting concepts. Since the cast of characters is quite large, it's difficult to really get into/know who is the main character (if there is even a singular main character). The story is told from various points of view (similar to Game of Thrones), which is nice, so you can get to know everyone a bit better and their way of thinking.